Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Code Pink Co-Founder Brutalized in Egypt

First Posted on DelawareLiberal on 3/5/2014 by ProgressivePopulist

Medea Benjamin, the indomitable co-founder of the women's activist
group Code Pink has reported that en-route to a women's conference in
Gaza, she was physically attacked at an airport in Egypt while en-route.
While
arranging her connecting flight to travel to an international
conference in Palestine, she was apparently detained by five "officials"
of the Egyptian government. Why five officials? Who knows. She's a
physically tiny 60'ish aged person, probably barely weighing a hundred
pounds. But in the course of the detention and interrogation in an
airport jail, she was thrown to the ground and man-handled, resulting in
a dislocated shoulder and broken arm. This is a non-violent peacemaker
who has learned well the art of passive resistance resulting from
organizing hundreds of peaceful protests over the last couple of
decades.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Medea at anti-war
events. She's rational, calm but a vocal lioness in a lambs body. You
might have seen her on C-Span in the gallery of innumerable
congressional hearings, leading shockingly peaceful but vocal protests
to the absurd theater going on in those hearings.
Code Pink, if
your not familiar with them, is a highly effective cadre of women
advocating peace and social justice with local groups in many major and
not so major cities around the U.S. I organized with this wonderful
group in Houston and Texas, especially in Veteran's For Peace events.
They speak with clarity and intelligence and shock you with the
fairy-like outfits which brilliantly draw attention to their message of
peace and justice.
She reports that she's been given pain killers
by an MD who was on her flight from the U.S. and now is on her way to
Istanbul for treatment. She may not make it to the Gaza conference, or
at least, not on time. But the U.S. will be well represented there by
Col. Ann Wright, of both Code Pink and Veterans For Peace, her good
friend and another American patriot with whom I've also protested and
shared experiences with in our attempts at peacemaking.
Medea
reports that Ann Wright, herself retired from both the military and the
State Department, made contact with the State Department in Egypt for
intervention and help in Medea's behalf. After hours of waiting at the
airport, they were a no show. It is anybody's guess why they did not
respond.
Here is wishing for a good recovery for Medea and best
wishes others who might have been inexplicably detained at the Egyptian
airport, serving as non-violent peacemakers and advocates for justice in
Palestine. It remains to be sorted out as to the motives with the
Egyptian authorities in their brutal treatment of American travelers.

About Me

Moved to Wilmington, Delaware in mid-2013. Resided in Houston, Texas for 45 years. A widower, married Julie Jackson in 2007. Retired as a hospital marketing consultant in 2001.Have been a Democratic Party political activist for most of my adult life, organizing and mobilizing for the Party and its candidates. Consider myself a progressive populist. Early career included running communications for 35 campaigns. Have formed and led committees dealing with voter mobilization and precinct organizing, counter voter suppression and strategy.Co-founded the Progressive Populist Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party. Have served on the Texas Democratic Party Platform Committee numerous times. Also an active organizer for the anti-war movement since Vietnam and was active in the civil rights movement.